


Spectacle

by delirias



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Drug Dealing, F/M, Recreational Drug Use, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-23
Updated: 2018-01-24
Packaged: 2019-03-08 11:50:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13457649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delirias/pseuds/delirias
Summary: Sage Henley knows better than to ask questions.Why her brother, Knox, brought them to the Southside, she was sure that question was off-limits. She was also sure that she should stop the boy next door from asking too many questions as soon as possible.Whatever it takes.





	1. Provider

Sage Henley knows enough.

She knows that Knox brought them to the Southside because of the Bad Thing. She knows too well, she cleaned up the mess.

As Knox Henley brings the truck up their new garage, Sage knows she already hates it here. The street lights flicker ominously and she spots a lone audience for their arrival.

Right across the street, a rundown bungalow sits quietly in a prelude to demise. A figure of a boy standing by the foyer didn’t seem to be bothered that the new kids in town just waltzed in at midnight.

No one in their right mind would be out in the Southside at midnight. Especially not outsiders.

“Stop staring, baby girl. You’re gonna attract attention,” Knox snaps her out of her current headspace.

“How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that? It sucks here. Can’t I at least check out the neighborhood?” Sage snaps back at her brother.

Knox tightens his grip on the steering wheel but cuts the engine. “Sure, you can check out the cute kid next door. You can do whatever you want in your own room, anyway, now that we’re…”

A dead silence fills the air, giving Sage a familiar chill.

Sage Henley knows that moments like these aren’t allowed to linger so she steps out of the car and her boots give a crunch on the gravel. Knox follows suit and starts lifting the boxes from the trunk as if they didn’t carry the weight of a past they were both running away from. But the past never really goes away, Sage thinks. She knows. They’ve tried running away from it before and the Henleys are doing it again.

“The ones marked with X are mine. Grab the rest and bring them to the living room,” Knox says in a lowered voice, keeping in mind that just because it’s midnight, there aren’t any souls watching the two of them.

With a huff, Sage monotonously brings the boxes inside the house, or what tried to pass off as a house.

The walls peeking behind the ripped wallpaper were vomit yellow and there was a strange smell of cat piss which makes Sage wrinkle her nose in disgust. Resigned to their current situation, Sage looks out the window for another look. The boy is gone from his post. Maybe he lost interest which was the plan all along. Sort of.

* * *

 

It takes about half an hour before the last box is hauled into the living room.

“Home sweet home, baby girl. Home sweet home.” Knox tries to grin but there’s a hint of remorse in his voice.

“I’ll make the -,” Sage replies but gets cut off by a familiar figure.

“You dropped this,” The boy from next door appears in the doorway and hands them a picture frame.

Sage doesn’t even need to look at the photo to know which one it is. It’s the one she hates so she hastily receives it and puts it away.

“Thanks. Um, I’m Sage and this is my brother Knox. We’re -,” Sage offers.

“Quite tired. But thanks, man. See you around.” Knox says with finality.

The boy looks quite taken aback with Knox’s rudeness but shrugs it off anyway.

He looks pale under the yellow lit chandelier, dark circles under his eyes and a tuft of dark hair. Like a well-placed piece of a chess board, he plays his part.

“I’ll see you around,” he says and steals a quick glance at Sage before leaving, not bothering to say his name.

The most noticeable thing about him was his leather jacket that had an emblem of an emerald snake on it. Southside Serpents.

Sage knows enough that at all costs, she needs to stay away from the boy next door.

* * *

The curious stares that Sage and her brother get when they arrive at Southside High were nothing new.

Sage adjusts the strap of her backpack on her shoulder, picking at the loose threads of her orange sweater while eyeing the students in the parking lot.

The morning sun glazes Knox’s face and Sage is well aware the girls are staring. Knox knows that his russet skin and green eyes can get him any girl and well, most of the time he does.

Knox hands her a hundred dollar bill and says, “Don’t attract attention, Sage. Your pretty face always gets us in trouble. Keep it lowkey, will you?”

Sage nods her head, trying to supress the question of how exactly Knox got the money but she shrugs it off anyway.

“See you later, baby girl,” Knox punches her arm lightly and walks away, confident as always. Sage knows it’s all an act. Knox has all the reason to be scared between the two of them but he’s battled her demons for her.

If Knox trusted her enough to bring her here, she was going to play her part.

* * *

 

“Blonde hair and tan skin courtesy of a poolside lounge chair. You must be Sage Henley.”

Sage resists the urge to glower at the student volunteer who was going to give her a tour of Southside High. If she was going to keep it lowkey, it meant not getting into a catfight on her first day. Or ever.

“Toni Topaz. Stick with me if you want to survive the rest of your miserable life here.” She walks away quickly, her blonde-pink hair standing out from the crowd.

Sage catches up in the next hallway. “This is your locker but I don’t recommend that you put your things in there, our fellow students pick the locks more often that you think.” Toni pops a gum when she was done talking and pauses. “That cutie you were with in the parking lot. Your boyfriend?”

Sage can feel Toni studying her face and answers, “Knox? He’s my brother.”

Toni pops her gum again. “Huh. You don’t look alike.”

“Glad you noticed. Your jacket,” Sage motions to Toni’s leather jacket with a familiar emerald snake emblazoned at the back, “The boy from next door wore the same one.”

“Southside Serpent. Sweet Pea did mention a hot chick moving in last night.” Toni pops her gum one more time and studies Sage from head to toe. “Makes sense, I guess.”

The bell rings before Sage can ask more questions.

“That’s your classroom,” Toni points to the open door to the right. “Don’t, under circumstances, attract attention. You’ll be dead meat before you can say “Ghoulie.”’

* * *

 

Sage Henley knows she was about to spend the rest of the school year eating lunch in a stall in the girl’s bathroom. To her dismay, the bathroom stalls didn’t have doors so she was forced to go back to the cafeteria.  
“Hey, blondie. Over here!” With a jolt of relief, Sage spots Toni Topaz sitting at a table that was full of leather-clad teenagers.

Including the stormy-faced boy next door who was obviously scowling.

“She can’t be here, Toni. This is Serpent territory,” the boy growls as soon as Sage comes within earshot.

“She’s gonna die out there, Sweet Pea.” Toni pleads, looking at the other table with kids clad in metal-spiked leather jackets.

Sage’s fingers tap nervously on her lunch tray. She had to think fast if she was going to save face. She starts to look around the cafeteria and sees Knox walking briskly towards her direction.

“I think I can take care of things from here,” Knox says as he saves the day for the billionth time. “Let’s go, baby girl.”

Knox grabs Sage hand and steers her towards an empty table.

“I had it under control, Knox.” Sage huffs as she takes her seat.

“Sure, the Ghoulies were already side-eyeing you and are you out of your mind? I told you to keep it lowkey, not hang out with the Serpents.”

Sage deflects. “How do _you_ know so much about Southside High? Your tour guide must have given you an in-depth school tour.”

Knox shrugs nonchalantly. “I pick up on things easily. Best you eat your lunch before the bell rings.”

Sage knows Knox meant for her to stop asking questions. As to why, Sage just has to trust her brother that he knows exactly what he's got them into.

* * *

Sage was sure that in terms of first days, she did pretty okay, save for that incident at the cafeteria. Knox won’t always be there to save her and she knows she needs to start being more focused on how to live normally, whatever normal was.

Knox dropped her off at home before speeding to god knows where.

So she sits on the armchair on the front porch while doing her homework. She had so much catching up to do so she busies herself with that.

A boot stomping on their creaky front porch steps interrupts Sage from her schoolwork.

“Did you expect a warm welcome?” The boy from next door leans against the railing.

Sage’s fingers move to a rhythmic beat on her History book.

“Sage, right?”

She nods, unsure if she should escort him out or make him stay awhile.

“Toni mentioned you’re Sweet Pea,” Sage’s voice falters so it comes out more like a question.

Sweet Pea nods his head ever so slightly.

“So did you?” He prods for an answer to his question.

Sage shakes her head. There wasn’t anything warm about the Southside.

Sage knows she needs to steer the conversation elsewhere before he asks more questions.

“Nice house,” she cocks her head toward the lonely bungalow across from where she sat.

Sweet Pea chuckles, to Sage’s surprise. “If you say so. Can’t really manage things properly.”

He notices that she was still looking at the house, trying to come up with something to say. “No one’s home. I’m stuck in that shithole forever,” he continues.

He fumbles through his pockets, pulls out a bent cigarette and lights it. Sage lets him smoke in peace for a few minutes. He looks exhausted but given everything that seems to be happening in the Southside, Sage understood. For now, they all just have to live with it.

“I hope things get better,” Sage says more to herself than to Sweet Pea.

Sweet Pea takes a final drag from his cigarette and puts it out on the sole of his boot.

“It just might,” he says as he turns to leave just in time as the truck pulls up on the driveway.

Sage notices the two exchange nods but she can sense the hostility between them. Again, she doesn’t want to ask why Knox doesn’t really like the boy next door.

Sage knows Knox has been keeping secrets from her but that’s nothing new.

Sage gets up to help her brother bring in the paper bags he was bringing but he stops her.

“Hope you like steak, baby girl. We’re celebrating.”

There were a lot of things that confused Sage and one of them was how Knox suddenly had so much money. Regardless, if they were going to live in the Southside for the time being, she might as well accept that all that Knox was doing was just taking care of the both of them.  

Sage knew she had to support her brother no matter what. Even if it involves cleaning up his mess from the kitchen floor. Just like last time.

 


	2. Recruiter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boy next door keeps asking too many questions so Sage Henley makes sure to take care of that the best way she can. It might just involve a lot of kissing.

The next few weeks come quietly, much to Sage Henley’s surprise.

Her afternoons were spent on the front porch, being enveloped by the warm afternoon sun while studying. Sage resolved that if there was one thing in her life she can control, she was sure it was her academics. That was a given since everything still didn’t seem to make sense but Sage just lets things be. Knox will take care of her, no questions asked.

The weekends were the best. Knox and Sage would spend their mornings listening to Edith Piaf from a speaker while sitting on the uncomfortable chairs Knox got from a yard sale. Knox always seemed to calm down on weekends, not minding the neighbors or whatever it is that always preoccupied him during the rest of the week. They both had this unspoken agreement that weekends were for the both of them. Just like old times.

“Your lemonade recipe is improving, baby girl. What new ingredient did you put this time?” Knox says as he clinks his glass with Sage’s.

Sage gives a rueful smile. “More sugar. Also, I put some vodka from your stash.”

Knox leans his head back and laughs. A silent sense of content creeps up on Sage. It’s been ages since Knox laughed. She wishes this moment would stay forever.

But as with all things, as soon as you wish for something, that’s when things turn to shit.

Knox’s phone rings and he stands up to answer it. He doesn’t even say goodbye to Sage when he drives off.

Happy moments are rare nowadays so Sage just tries to memorize the bits and pieces of what she can. It was easy, anyway. There never was much to begin with.

It doesn’t take long before Sage puts away the outdoor chairs and brings the pitcher back to the kitchen. She leaves the music on just in case Knox comes back soon. It was futile to hope for it but Sage hopes anyway.

There wasn’t anything much to do in the house. The Henleys were good with cleaning up their spaces. The house didn’t look as dismal as before and the living room didn’t reek of cat piss anymore.

It was probably time to get a good look at the neighborhood, Sage thinks. Bad things don’t really happen in the afternoon so she turns left, trying her best not to look at the bungalow across the street.

The walk was boring. Nothing out of the ordinary pops up from where Sage stands. The houses were rundown, quiet, and despondent. Everything looked normal in terms of Southside standards.

Out of nowhere, the heavy footfalls of a stranger brings a slow panic to Sage. The steps were quickly approaching from behind her but she doesn’t want to look back lest the person trailing her would take it as an invitation or a threat.

In one swift move, Sage gets the spare key from her pocket and puts her fingers in formation, just like how Knox taught her to.

The figure was so near, Sage can hear her heart drum rapidly in her chest. If someone were to get hurt, it wasn’t going to be her.

As soon as a hand puts itself on her shoulder, Sage quickly turns around and raises the fist that held the key.

“Whoah, chill out for a bit. Your means of protection rank a solid two out of five,” Sweet Pea says, unbothered that Sage was supposed to punch his eyes out.

It takes a few seconds before Sage brings her raised fist down.

“Besides, how stupid are you to walk around the neighborhood alone?” He continues, surveying the houses lined up on the street.

“Knox is out. I got bored,” Sage replies, kicking herself in the head that she forgot that everything about the Southside was dangerous, even where home was.

Sweet Pea clicks his tongue. “Come with me.”

They round up to the familiar bungalow, what Sweet Pea called a shithole. It was home, still, Sage thinks.

“I shouldn’t...you know...go inside. Knox might-,” Sage says, knowing that Knox would be entirely displeased.

“Knox left you alone in a house in the Southside. Around these parts, that’s not really the best idea, especially for outsiders.”

It didn’t occur to Sage until now that a key in her hand would not be enough to protect her. Maybe she was trying to forget the things that happened before so much that she neglected her present circumstances. Those included her being alone and vulnerable.

Sweet Pea takes a seat on the threadbare couch that looked like it had seen too many nights of late night talk shows.

“You can sit, you know.” Sweet Pea motions her to come closer.

“This isn’t a good idea.”

“You being a sitting duck in the Southside isn’t a good idea. You’re safe here. Have a seat.”

Sage obeys. She doesn’t question it, since it seems that Sweet Pea was resolved to guard her for the time being. Maybe she needed that.

“Thanks,” she says as she takes a seat.

“It’s not much,” Sweet Pea says as he notices Sage taking in the present environment. It was true. Everything was minimalist, as if he was only concerned about the essentials. It was bare but oddly enough, everything was carefully put into place.

“It’s home,” Sage replies.

“It’s not home, just a place to rest,” Sweet Pea quickly replies.

Even if it were, the dark circles under his eyes didn’t reflect that. “Why’d you move to the Southside? That’s a god-awful thing to do,” Sweet Pea asks.

This was the part that Sage has to avoid. Questions. She knows if she answers one, it would lead to another and then another. Shit would eventually spill out just like brains on a linoleum floor.

“Where are your parents?” If Sweet Pea can ask questions, so can she.

“Gone.” He says, as plainly as if they were talking about the weather. “It’s just me now,” Sweet Pea pauses for a bit. “So why the move?”

This was getting frustrating for Sage. Sweet Pea didn’t seem to know when to stop asking the damn questions that Sage needed to avoid.

“Do you wanna makeout?” Sage asks suddenly, looking at Sweet Pea dead straight in eyes.

“Are you serious?” He shifts on his seat, unable to think if this was some sick joke or not.

Without a second thought, Sage quickly moves so that she’s straddling Sweet Pea. “I’m dead serious,” her lips barely brushing against his and she can feel the initial shock that comes along with it.

Sweet Pea doesn’t touch her but his eyes betray him because he’s staring at her lips and holy fuck, she’s so close to him, he can’t think.

Sage doesn’t let her gaze stray from Sweet Pea. Her finger gently runs itself along his neck, giving him goosebumps. “Dead serious,” she says before she locks her lips against his.

It takes a while before Sweet Pea realizes what’s going on, heck, what the fuck is going on? He knows he’ll have his balls pinned to a stake if ever Knox Henley finds out, but he wants this, whatever this is.

He picks her up and lays her on her back on the couch, taking time to nibble on her lower lip. To his surprise, she lets out a soft moan. Something in his brain short circuits and it turns into a wild frenzy of lips on lips and hands on skin.

There are so many things he wants to do to her but for now, Sweet Pea is content gently running his hand along the waistband of her jeans.

She lets another moan escape and just before Sweet Pea can touch her more, a series of hurried knocks pounds on his front door.

“Your _fornication_ can be heard all the way on the Northside, Sweet Pea.” An unfamiliar voice calls out.

“ _Fuck_ ,” Sweet Pea sits up and adjust his jeans which were now unbearably tight.

“Soon,” Sage says before giving him a final kiss that goes on far longer than planned.

“Stop _slobbering_ over the chick, man. I can hear it. It’s gross,” another series of knocks barrages them.

“Shut up, Fangs. The door is open.” Sweet Pea calls out.

The boy named Fangs enters with a smirk. “You move fast, Sweet Pea.” He dons a familiar leather jacket that Sage has seen quite a lot lately.

Sweet Pea groans and says, “I didn’t…” He takes a deep breath when he sees Sage blush. “Fangs, this is Sage. You’ve seen each other in school, I presume.”

Fangs moves back to the doorway and taps his watch, “You forgot we have some business to do.”

Sage notices Sweet Pea clench his jaw and sigh. She gets the message.

“See you later,” she says and walks back to their house without a second glance.

Sometimes, she thinks, she just needs to do what she needs to do. She wouldn’t mind doing it again if it means keeping Sweet Pea’s nose out of the Henley’s business.

Besides, he was a good kisser.

* * *

 

Sage waits until nightfall for Knox to come back home. He doesn’t.

Sometimes she paces up and down the driveway, thinking that if she passed time like that, Knox will show up faster. But he doesn’t.

The lights are on inside Sweet Pea’s house and remembering what he said earlier, Sage knows she shouldn’t be alone right now. Screw it if things get awkward or whatever, Sage thinks as she knocks on the front door.

“Hey, Sweet Pea. It’s Sage from next door,” she says behind the door.

The door opens and a shirtless Sweet Pea welcomes her. “What’s up, Sage from next door?”

Sage takes a step back, trying her best not to gawk. His skin is paler than she remembers but he looks near glorious towering over her.

She resists the urge to say, “You could be,” and instead says, “Can I come in?”

An awkward hush settles and Sage knows it was coming anyway. She bites her lip nervously.

Sweet Pea groans. “Can you stop doing that?”

Sage bites her lip again, unsure what to say because she hasn’t even done anything yet. “Doing what?”

Sweet Pea closes in on her and Sage has to tilt her head up to see his face as he traces his thumb across her bottom lip. “This,” he says and traces her lips one more time.

Nothing seemed to be out of place so Sage makes sure not to egg Sweet Pea on whatever he thinks is going to happen. Bigger things were saved for bigger problems. Things were contained for the time being.

“Did you do your homework yet?” Sage removes herself from Sweet Pea’s touch and plops herself on the couch.

He sighs and sits beside her. “No, not really. I’ll just copy mine from Toni tomorrow.” He pauses. “About um, earlier...”

“It was nice,” Sage cuts him off.

“Yeah it was. I mean, it was _unexpected_ but it was...nice.”

Sage wasn’t here to talk about her self-preservation skills. She knows her only intent was to make sure she’ll be alive so she can cook breakfast for her brother in the morning.

“That thing with Fangs, did it go okay?” As for safe questions, Sage thinks this was one of them.

“Yeah, that bitch got what she wanted. Fucking hell,” was all he says.

She nods her head knowing not to pry. “Knox isn’t home yet,” she says quietly.

“He’s a busy man, your brother. I think it’s peak season,” Sweet Pea says plainly, as if Sage knew what he was talking about.

“Peak season? No, he’s just taking care of us.”

Sweet Pea clucks his tongue, still oblivious that Sage was in the dark about the topic. “It’s a dangerous way to take care of his sister, if you ask me.”

“Whatever it is, at least he hasn’t joined a _gang_ ,” she challenges.

A hollow laugh escapes from Sweet Pea. “He hasn’t but the Serpents aren’t the ones dealing nor producing jingle-jangle.”

Sage just looks at him for some sort of clarity.

“The stuff that’s going around in school.”

No response. “The _drugs_.”

Still no response. “Believe it or not, Sage, your brother...” he pauses, “Your dear brother is the Sugar Man.”

And just like that, Sage’s world caves in. She knows that name all too well.

She knows the red-rust of the blood that came out of that name. She knows the silence that came when that name breathed its last.

The Sugar Man was dead. Knox Henley knows that as well. He was the one who put a bullet through his head.

Why did he kill the past only to become it?

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! Casually redirecting you to ssouthsidepea.tumblr.com for fun fic stuff


End file.
